Pei Qian was stunned.
At that moment, he felt like an amateur mage that learned how to cast the pyroblast spell by reading a book for ten seconds. However, as he tried it out, he hit his opponent's shield and ended up burning his entire face.
Still, Boss Pei was a veteran of a hundred battles. He quickly regained his composure.
"A foreign distribution company...? Based on what I know, local films don't become very popular in overseas markets.
"Most of them only generate... one or two million US dollars, right?"
Pei Qian had this basic knowledge.
Many extremely popular locally-produced films had tried distributing overseas, but the cultural gap and difference in language posed a problem. Often, their results were not ideal.
Films that could easily make more than a hundred million yuan in China ended up making less than one or two million US dollars overseas. What's more, a lot of this depended on the content as well.
Pei Qian did some rough calculations. If they only made one or two million US dollars-after splitting the revenue and accounting for the exchange rate, the amount earned would not become too big of a burden.
It would just be a few million yuan. Pei Qian could easily deal with it.
Now, he was more concerned about which blind foreign distribution company had become interested in the film in the first place.
Huang Sibo smiled. "That's right.
"As influential Chinese actors retired from Hollywood, locally-produced films became less and less attractive in overseas box offices. At the same time, as the local market developed quicker, the locals' pride and confidence intensified. Thus, many film directors focused on the local market and gave up on adapting to the foreign audience's taste.
"Recently, many locally-produced films could easily earn hundreds of millions of yuan in China but only one or two million US dollars overseas. Overseas, their row piece rates are low, they're unpopular, and their influence is limited.
"However, for that exact reason, our film would be able to stand out! "Flying Star Journey has failed all over the world. However, it's a high-budget, foreign, sci-fi film after all. Tomorrow is Beautiful could achieve similar results with a much lower budget and even exceed Flying Star Journey's reputation. That's why the foreign distribution company has so much confidence in the film!
"What's more, Tomorrow is Beautiful has a unique advantage. The entire film is in English, and it's based on a futuristic world. This blurs the lines between race and countries, thus narrowing the cultural gap. That means a foreign audience would find it more acceptable! "Furthermore, the film explores ideas like income gap, excessive consumerism, the effect of wealth on people, and the like. These would resonate with a foreign audience!
"You don't have to worry, Boss Pei! Our film will likely be able to earn more than a million US dollars!"
"..." Pei Qian was momentarily speechless.
Zhu Xiaoce added, "That's right, Boss Pei. Don't underestimate the fact that the film is in English!
"You have to understand that foreigners hate subtitles. There's a simple reason for this. English is a very superfluous language. It's tiring to read subtitles.
"A powerful proof of this is that China has huge quantities of video websites with bullet screen comments, but such websites don't exist overseas.
"That's because our words are ideographic, and people can capture their meaning very quickly. One glance would allow viewers to understand the meaning of the entire bullet screen comment. Yet, it's different for English.
"It's the same with subtitles. Foreigners are not as used to subtitles as we are. To them, whether the film is in English or not would determine whether they go and watch it or not!
"That's why it's a huge advantage that our film is in English! Although the three main leads have Asian accents, foreigners would not be concerned. Instead, they would find it appropriate for the role and cultural background.
"All in all, everything about the film from the scriptwriting onwards has been suited to a foreign audience's taste!
"Boss Pei, you were far-sighted to make everyone speak English!"
Zhu Xiaoce held up his thumb excitedly.
Pei Qian, "..."
He really wanted to say: 'No! You're wrong! I wasn't far-sighted! In fact, I was too short-sighted! I wanted to use English to dissuade the local audience. I never thought that the film would make it overseas!'
However, Zhu Xiaoce and Huang Sibo were looking at him very respectfully. Thus, Pei Qian could not help but sigh inwardly.
Really terrible!
March 30th, Wednesday...
Over the past two days, players of GOG had been extremely happy.
At midnight last night, the results for the first Spring Competition of the first season had finally been locked in. Today, all the rewards had been distributed. The entire event was now at its peak!
There were posts discussing the event everywhere online. Of course, some doubted how real the winners' skills were. After all, there was no such thing as perfectly fair competition in the world, and sour grapes made others feel jealous of the lucky winners.
Still, this noise only formed a minority of the discussions online.
The competition had been public, fair, and transparent. Although it was possible that some had cozied up to powerful people, those who placed among the first five hundred within such a short period must have had some real skills.
Given the short period, actors and workspaces could not react quickly enough. Before they could generate enough influence, the results had been locked in and the prizes had been distributed.
The players who had won prizes celebrated joyously. They shared their results and their awards and paraded their prizes around the internet. This made everything more exciting and GOG more popular. All in all, everyone was over the moon. The players won money, GOG became more popular, and Boss Pei scattered his coins.
However, while others were unconditionally happy, Boss Pei's happiness was mixed with deep worry. That was because he realized that the game had become much more popular than he had imagined.
Pei Qian felt like he was beginning to lose control!
Thus, the intelligent Boss Pei gave Hu Xianbin an important task yesterday. He asked the latter to analyze the results of the competition and write a detailed report for him.
On the surface, it looked like he was just giving Hu Xianbin an assignment. However, in reality, Boss Pei wanted to understand what exactly had happened.
He had to admit that Hu Xianbin was extremely efficient. Pei Qian had already received the report today.
However, after reading it, his heart turned cold.
During the short and intense competition period, the number of active players on GOG'S mobile game and client-side game kept increasing rapidly.
The temptation of earning a hundred thousand yuan with just a week's worth of effort had been hard for gamers to resist. Many people's rational minds told them that they would not be able to win a hundred thousand yuan, but their wishful thinking pushed them to try anyway.
GOG's generous competition prizes attracted hoards of new gamers, who had never played this genre of games before. In addition, the game's AI made sure that even new gamers had a good gaming experience.
Thus, most people enjoyed playing the game in the beginning, and they received a lot of positive reinforcement from the game itself. That was why so many people started to feel like they were natural talents.
By the time people realized that they could not possibly win the prizes, they had already played the game intensely for two or three days. By then, they had already become used to the gameplay, and they understood how fun the game was. Thus, they were less likely to quit.
On top of that, the gamers' wishful thinking pushed them to repeatedly 'side-step the problem'. Those who were more confident with touching the screen could play the mobile game. Those who were more confident with the keyboard and mouse could play the client-side game.
Those who had been tragically beaten in the client-side game and thought that those who played the mobile game were lousier... considered switching.
Those who found touching their mobile screens difficult and using the keyboard and mouse much more convenient and accurate... they also considered switching.
The integration of data on both versions did not cause gamers to despise dual-terminal games. Instead, it prevented them from becoming bored and heightened their desire to buy skins.
After all, the skins could be used for both terminals. A single purchase could bring them twice the joy.
As they transferred here and there, gamers slowly realized that they were equally bad at the client-side game and mobile game. By then, playing the game had become a habit.
All in all, the event was stable, accurate, and ruthless. Not only had it captured all experienced players, but it had also won over a large group of new players. GOG's popularity peaked within a short time thanks to the generous prizes.
What's more, before workspaces and directors could react, the competition ended. That was how maximum fairness was guaranteed.
What followed after that part of the report was mindless praise for Boss Pei.
After reading the report, Pei Qian felt speechless. He finally understood why the figures had looked so abnormal.
They had incurred losses indeed, but the cost was high. It was far more than Pei Qian had expected at first.
"It doesn't matter. It'll be fine as long as I can incur losses this cycle. I'll think about how to resolve the problems in the future. "However, GOG's current situation has exposed a huge problem in the way that I understand games.
"No way... I have to change things when I work on the next game. I cannot make any more money!
"I'll summarize my lessons and learn from my mistakes. I have to develop a game that would
fail!"
After several days of secluding himself to think, Pei Qian finally thought of a good idea for a failed game.
He would brief the two gaming departments very clearly during the next cycle!
March 31st, Thursday...
The system screen automatically appeared in front of Pei Qian.
At that point, Pei Qian heaved a long sigh of relief.
He was comfortable now!
Pei Qian had about 180 thousand yuan left after buying a house. Then, he had earned a hundred thousand yuan for writing the script for the movie and got tens of thousands of yuan over the Chinese New Year.
He had claimed most of his daily expenses, and so he did not spend much of his money. Instead, he had saved them all.
This time, after converting more than 580 thousand yuan, Pei Qian had about 920 thousand yuan in his Personal Wealth.
He had worked hard, but it had all been worth it!
Comparatively, it was obviously much more worth it to incur losses. Otherwise, he would have had to earn five hundred million yuan to convert the same amount of money.
What's more, the five hundred million yuan had to be lying in his company's bank account. He would not be able to convert any amount that he had invested. Yet, if he did not invest the money, how would he earn that much?!
Thus, no matter what, incurring losses would always be the best way to take advantage of the System.
After the System got upgraded to version 2.0, the ratios had been adjusted according to the Matthew effect. However, Pei Qian noticed that it was still easier to incur losses.
In the past, Pei Qian would work himself untill he was dead beat. Yet, out of three settlements, he had only successfully incurred losses once.
This time, he was incurring losses more steadily now.
On one hand, it was because Pei Qian understood the System much better after failing multiple times. He had come up with many ways to incur losses such as allowing certain subsidiaries to drink poison to quench thirst and prioritizing reputation over profits.
On the other hand, the System had implemented many facilitative terms after upgrading. For example, Pei Qian could spend a certain amount of money on charity during each cycle and work on a single project over two cycles. He only ended up with losses this time because he had poured tens of millions of yuan into Thriller Hostel.
Based on his calculations, Pei Qian had earned about six hundred yuan in five months. That was more than a hundred thousand yuan per month!
Yes, it was worth celebrating!
Now, he could buy new appliances and furniture for the new house. He could also conduct soft renovation if he wanted to.
Of course, he still had to work harder.On top of that, Pei Qian had discovered a medium-sized hidden threat: the fixed asset, Ming Yun Private Kitchen's villa, had appreciated by more than two hundred thousand yuan.
Buying a fixed asset and managing it under the company's name had allowed Pei Qian to spend a huge sum of money. However, Pei Qian did not dare to buy any more fixed assets for fear that they would affect settlement.
The biggest problem with having fixed assets was that 10% of its estimated worth would be converted into the System Funds. The formula for calculating loss would thus be 'starting sum in System Funds – current System Funds – 10% of the value of Fixed Assets'. That was a headache.
If they only had ten million yuan worth of System Funds in the beginning, and the company's Fixed Assets were worth a total of a hundred million yuan, then even if Pei Qian managed to spend all the System Funds, he would still not be able to incur losses overall.
Still, this was the first settlement with Version 2.0 of the System. In the future, the starting sum in the System Funds would continue to increase.
Once the starting sum became twenty, thirty, or fifty million yuan, Pei Qian could think about buying more fixed assets in the company's name and using them for manufacturing or operations.
As the System Funds increased, Pei Qian would be able to lose more money and convert more Personal Wealth.
"I hope that the System Funds would increase for the next cycle..." Pei Qian prayed in his heart.
Chapter 471 Retire and Give Room to Better Men
Pei Qian turned his attention to the System's reward. Each time the System gave him a reward, it proved very useful. The past rewards that Pei Qian had received included:
Getting an additional ten percent above the final converted amount, which translated to more income...
Changing the prohibitions to allow for donations to charity, thus allowing Pei Qian to mindlessly get rid of a portion of the System Funds...
Allowing one incomplete project to span two cycles, thus giving Pei Qian an additional way to spend huge sums of money...
Pei Qian wondered what the System's reward would be this time.
The system screen continued to flash.
The long string of messages made Pei Qian dizzy.
First of all, he confirmed that the next cycle would last six months. That was slightly longer than Pei Qian had expected.
Three were pros and cons to both.
A short cycle would mean earlier settlement, and Pei Qian would be able to get his money earlier. However, less time meant he could not work on many long projects, and he would be more restricted. A long cycle would mean he could invest in bigger projects that cost more, but settlement would be later.
Pei Qian thought about Thriller Hostel's problems and decided that six months was acceptable. A longer cycle was better than a shorter one.
The starting sum of twenty million yuan was less than Pei Qian had imagined. However, that was twice the starting sum that he had in the previous cycle.
Obviously, the starting sum had increased, and the difficulty of incurring losses had been reduced. The System was not foolish.
Pei Qian began to study the Special Task for this cycle.
'No matter how smoothly things go, true business geniuses would never give up learning. This sentence offended Pei Qian slightly. He did not want things to go smoothly, and he had not given up learning.
He listened intently in class from time to time, and he passed his examinations based on his own efforts every time. How could the System say that he had given up on learning?!
However, the System seemed to have another way of measuring this.
The System's regulations were very clear. Pei Qian could invest up to eight percent of the starting sum—that was 1,600,000 yuan-in himself. Simply put, he could use the money to pay his school fees.
The System had not restricted him in terms of what he could learn.
During Settlement, the System would measure how much Pei Qian had learned. If the System was satisfied with Pei Qian's results, it would reward him by allowing him to deduct or add a fixed sum to the System Funds.
What if Pei Qian had 22 million yuan by the end of the cycle? That would be a profit. However, if Pei Qian had spent a million yuan on school fees and acquired the relevant knowledge, he would be able to deduct (1,000,000 x 8) 8,000,000 yuan from the System Funds.
There would still be 22 million yuan in the System Funds, but the System would calculate the conversion using the sum of 14 million yuan. That would count as a loss.
Pei Qian would only be able to convert two thousand yuan if there were 22 million yuan in the System Funds. However, thanks to the reward, he would be able to convert six hundred thousand yuan. Still, the regulations seemed restrictive.
First, Pei Qian could decide how much he wanted to spend, up to 1,600,000 yuan. However, even a Master's in Business Administration would only cost tens of thousands of yuan or hundreds of thousands of yuan at most. How could Pei Qian spend 1,600,000 yuan?
He could register for more courses, but if he couldn't spare time to attend all the classes, he would not meet the System's requirements in the end. That would be useless.
What's more, how much knowledge did he have to acquire before the System would be satisfied? There didn't seem to be a clear standard.
"I want to spend as much money as possible and accomplish this mission. My best bet would be to hire an impressive professor with genuine talent or an impressive, elite professional. I can pay them a high fee and then spend more time studying hard. That would improve my chances of success. "Yet... What should I learn?
"Management? Economics? Finance?
"I can learn management and do the opposite of everything so that I can lose more money. Learning economics could also help me incur losses.
"However... I would seem overly confident by choosing either of those.
"I'm a humanities student who has never even learned additional mathematics. I'd probably fail miserably if I try to learn either of those things. I could spend six months drilling difficult theories into my head and yet not understand a thing. If the System fails me, I would have wasted all of my efforts...
"Forget it. There's no rush. I should think about it more."
Pei Qian thought that the special task was very important. He could not afford to be reckless. Instead, he had to make very calculated moves.
He had to make sure that he would learn something and spend huge sums of money. It would be best if the mission would help him to incur even more losses.
April 1st, Friday...
Li Yada and Bao Xu were back. Pei Qian wished that it was an April Fool's Day joke, but it was not.
Still, Boss Pei was very relaxed now that settlement was over. He felt like a college student starting a new term at schoolpeaceful and joyful. Exams week was far away, and he could enjoy as much as he wanted to at the moment.
Once Li Yada and Bao Xu entered the office, they received a warm welcome from everyone in Tengda Games.
"Big Sister Li, you're back! Did you have fun?"
"Eh, Brother Bao, you don't look that tan this time. Did you put a lot of sunblock?"
"Did you have fun overseas?"
Li Yada passionately shared about her travels and her experiences with her affectionate group of colleagues. On the other hand, Bao Xu walked back to his work desk expressionlessly, with earphones on to isolate himself from the rest of the world.
He did not want to leave again for the rest of his life!
Indeed, a homebody who hated going outdoors would never enjoy the experience of traveling no matter how many times he was forced to go through it.
When she noticed that Boss Pei was present, Li Yada quickly went up to greet him. "Boss Pei, we're back!"
Pei Qian forced a smile and nodded.
Hu Xianbin walked up to Li Yada and proudly said, "Big Sister Li, we've completed the mission! After you left, we continued along your train of thought and finished GOG's mobile game. After that, the game became extremely successful with the help of Boss Pei's finishing touches!"
Li Yada smiled and said, "I know. I've been keeping an eye on GOG's situation. I'm proud of all of you!
"It's true—Tengda is now extremely powerful as a whole. Each person has his own role, and we can't do without anyone! "Of course, that's aside from Boss Pei."
The corners of Pei Qian's mouth twitched.
Pei Qian hated hearing that the company could do without anyone but himself. However, no matter how much he hated it, he had to admit that it was a fact. If not for himself, some projects would not have made that much money.
Take GOG for example. Li Yada had to take the most blame. Who had told her to come up with the idea of a mobile game anyway?!
If she had stuck to creating a client-side game, there would not have been so many issues!
The way Pei Qian saw it-even if he was to be blamed, he could only take a bit of the blame. To spend more money, he had come up with the competition and had accidentally made the game even more popular.
Hu Xianbin was the least responsible. After all, he had just been carrying out Li Yada's instructions.
Thus, now that Li Yada and Bao Xu were back, Pei Qian felt that the next cycle would be even more difficult.
Li Yada exchanged a couple of pleasantries with everyone and then turned to Pei Qian. "Boss Pei, after this, I've made my mind up about something.
"I want to retire and give room to better men!"
Pei Qian was stunned. "Huh?"
Li Yada continued speaking. "I think that Tengda Games has only been this successful because it keeps welcoming fresh blood.
"This is a position that requires a lot of creativity. If one person remains the head of the gaming department for an extended period, he or she would eventually run out of inspiration and become boring. "Thus, I've decided to transfer the role of chief planner to Hu Xianbin!"
Eh? Was such a good thing really happening? The person in charge of a successful project like GOG was taking the initiative to make room for better men?
That was great!
Pleasantly surprised, Pei Qian immediately beamed brightly.
Hu Xianbin was stunned as well. He quickly said, "Big Sister Li, I don't think that's appropriate. I just joined the company a while
ago..."
Li Yada smiled and shook her head. "You already proved your skills. What's more, I always thought that I was not capable enough to act as the chief planner as well.
"Boss Pei was the one who encouraged me and allowed me to reach 120% of my potential. That explains GOG's success. Now, I think it's time to transfer this role to a young man with a brighter future.
"As for me... I'll be like Bao Xu. I'll relax in the department and help out here and there, wherever you need me."
Pei Qian could not help but feel emotional. Look! Look at this enlightenment! Zhang Yuan, learn from her!
Before this, Pei Qian had gotten rid of Zhang Yuan through the first-place-elimination system. Yet, Zhang Yuan had been reluctant to leave Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and ROF Computer-Installation. He had been the complete opposite of free and easy!
Look at Li Yada! She was so easygoing!
Although Pei Qian did not like Hu Xianbin especially much, Li Yada was still more dangerous between the two of them. He had to choose the lesser of two evils. It was a good thing that Li Yada was stepping down as the chief planner!
Pei Qian immediately agreed. "Alright, no problem. We will keep your salary the same, but you will no longer act as the chief planner. Thank you for working so hard for Tengda Games! You're growing older with each passing day, and it's time for you to take a break..."Everyone, "..."
Boss Pei's words were warm and moving, but what did he mean by 'you're growing older with each passing day'?!
Li Yada was only 25 years old this year.
Pei Qian studied Li Yada and Bao Xu and felt like travel therapy was especially effective. A perfectly functional chief planner had returned from her travels, desiring to slack and stepping down from her position.
Great!
Pei Qian would keep Li Yada in the gaming department and allow her to spread her slacking mentality–which she had cultivated during her travels—to the rest of the department.
As time went by, the entire gaming department would be filled with retired chief planners who could only think about slacking.
It would be the perfect scenario, right?
Chapter 472 Old Master Lin Changed His Mind
3rd April, Sunday...
Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Handong University branch...
Pei Qian and Lin Chang drank their coffees silently.
These two days were weekends. Pei Qian could have finally rested at ease without any psychological burden, put all his worries behind, and led a short and happy life.
However, Lin Chang came to Jingzhou today, which meant he had to meet him.
It's just that... both of them fell into silence after greeting each other. They half-thought they succeeded thinking of how they were planning and strategizing a few months ago. However, in the end, both the game and the mobile phones were both popular. Lin Wan also swelled unprecedentedly and even began ranting in her family group chat, expressing her hatred. Both of them had problems on their mind. However, it did not seem appropriate for both of them to stay silent. The problem had to be resolved!
Lin Chang started reluctantly after a while. "Boss Pei, things are not going too well with the game and the cell phone. Didn't we make sufficient plans?"
The corners of Pei Qian's mouth twitched.
The planning part was mainly done by Pei Qian. He planned ambitiously, only to earn like a dog in the end. However, Pei Qian could not take it lying down. Lin Chang, do you dare say you don't have any responsibility at all?
If you had not made your own decisions in the publicity of Tomorrow is Beautiful, the movie would not be so popular. The advertisements in it would not be studied, and the OTTO cell phones would not have such a good start...
In any case, you are definitely responsible as well! You can't just throw all the responsibility at me!
Pei Qian sighed and said, "I gave you the responsibility of publicizing Tomorrow is Beautiful. You arranged for so many film schedules which established a high-end image for the OTTO cell phone in the minds of the consumers before its release. That has also disrupted the deployment of my strategy." Lin Chang had a look of disbelief. "How was that possible?!
"Boss Pei, didn't you write the script of this movie? You definitely know about the advertisement for OTTO cell phones. The quality of the movie is so high and had such a rich spiritual connotation. You know it better than anyone else that it would still be popular even if I did not do any publicity for it! "I will believe that the other movies succeeded because of publicity, but Tomorrow is Beautiful...? Publicity is nothing more than icing on the cake!"
Lin Chang actually threw the responsibility back to Boss Pei at the speed of light.
Pei Qian, "..."
He could not accept it but it did seem difficult to refute after thinking about it.
Tomorrow is Beautiful was now regarded as a work of excellent quality and profound connotation. Most people believed that the key factor of its success was its quality even though publicity had its merits.
As for the matter of excellent quality...
The biggest contributor might be Zhu Xiaoce, but Pei Qian seemed to be responsible as well.
Pei Qian started to doubt himself. Would all these not be destined to happen according to Lin Chang's words?
They fell into a short period of silence again.
Lin Chang whispered suspiciously, "Boss Pei, could you actually have done it on purpose?
"You let Ah Wan handle the industries that seem like it might fall on the surface, but you actually know beforehand that both the game and the cell phone would be huge successes? Why else would you use the other industries to help them?
"As far as I know, you are personally responsible for the promotion of Be Quiet. All sorts of benefits from cell phone advertisements also benefited from other industries.
"Could it be that... you actually don't want Ah Wan to leave?"
Pei Qian's face turned black. "No such thing!
"Lin Wan is the director of two departments. She is very familiar with the other department heads. She had the authority to demand benefits from the other departments and to coordinate the overall situation.
"As for Be Quiet... it was an accident.
"Boss Lin, believe me, of all people; I want Lin Wan to go home more than anyone else."
Pei Qian's expression was extremely sincere.
Lin Chang looked at Pei Qian without a word but had suspicion in his gaze.
That was normal. Your suspicion would also grow if someone banged their chest and promised you something, and yet they failed many times because of some other 'subjective reasons' or 'unexpected factors'...
However, Pei Qian was definitely wronged in this case. Then again, it would seem as though no defense would have any effect now that things had come to such a state...
He could only continue to formulate goals for the next stage. He must persuade Lin Wan to leave this time!
However, Lin Chang's next sentence threw him off-guard while he thought of his next goal.
Lin Chang sighed gently. "Alright, Boss Pei. I'm not here to push responsibility today. I have another matter on hand. To be honest, the situation has changed.
"Lin Wan has been showing off in our family chat over the past few days especially about the Otto mobile phone successfully selling for 8,000 yuan. It was a price that even the flagship mobile phone that my elder sister is responsible for did not reach.
"There was a huge difference in the sales volume, but Ah Wan has only been making mobile phones for a few months, and my eldest sister has been doing it for several years after all...
"In short, the scene is very chaotic."
Pei Qian thought for a while. "Then... Will the Old Master allow her to continue doing her thing?"
"As expected, Boss Pei always gets to the core of the issue. This is the key to the change in the situation," Lin Chang said with a grin.
"Not only is the Old Master not angry, but he is also very happy. I'll tell you the truth, Boss Pei.
"Old Master was very upset that Ah Wan came out to work out of anger previously. He knows the situation with the workplaces outside and felt that Ah Wan was wasting time. That was why he kept trying to get Ah Wan back to inherit the family business.
"Ah Wan was working on games previously without much progress. Mobile games might have made some money, but it was nothing much after all so Old Master's attitude did not undergo any change.
"However, Ah Wan said that she made a cell phone priced at 8,000 yuan. The Old Master is suddenly very interested!
"He, therefore, got someone to understand a bit more about Otto cell phones and Tengda Corporation. Guess what happened?"
The corners of Pei Qian's mouth twitched. He had a very bad premonition. "What?"
Lin Chang had a very complicated expression. "Old Master understood the process of how the cell phone became popular and how it managed to sell it to a price of 8,000 yuan. He has nothing but praise for you!
"You boldly used Chang You and priced it as a high-end product right from the beginning. You did subtle publicity in the movie and used Tengda's other industries to push the cell phone's popularity. You've also made a way out for yourself in this saturated market..."
"Any wrong step would have called the Otto cell phone to fail!
"Especially at the news conference. Old Master felt very surprised since no domestic producers had ever done that before. The Old Master mentioned that this news conference had saved hundreds of thousands in advertising fees!
"Old Master knew that most of the strategies must have been Chang You's and your merit, but Ah Wan would definitely be able to grow even if she is only handling a small portion
"And then Old Master obtained a simple understanding of the Tengda Corporation's other industries including the Upwind Logistics, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, etc...."
Pei Qian was starting to feel even worse. "Just tell me the end results..."
Lin Chang paused before saying. "The Old Master changed his mind."
Pei Qian, "?"
"Changed his mind? He does not want Lin Wan to go back?"
Lin Chang had a complicated expression. "Yes.
"Old Master originally wanted Ah Wan back because he felt that the companies outside are not reliable. He felt that Ah Wan was completely wasting her time working for these companies.
"However, Old Master's biased opinion against these companies was slightly shifted seeing Ah Wan's spectacular results... oh, that doesn't sound too accurate. I should say his bias against Tengda has shifted.
"Old Master admires you and feels that Ah Wan will be able to learn a lot under you. He felt that it wouldn't be bad for her to train here for a few years before going back to inherit the family business.
Pei Qian, "???!"
It wouldn't be bad to train here for a few years before going back? What do you mean by 'won't be bad'? That obviously can't do! What would become of my company if she were to stay here for another few years!
'Getting Lin Wan back to the family business front lines' was such an insignificant goal in the face of just one small success?
Old Master Lin, can't you stand firm on your grounds?!
"What did Lin Yu say then?" Pei Qian asked hurriedly.
Lin Chang shrugged. "What can she say? She has to listen to Old Master.
"Old Master's attitude now is since Ah Wan can learn something from here, then she can stay here for a while. Moreover, the Old Master hinted for us siblings to coordinate ourselves to lend her a helping hand in her career..."
Pei Qian's mind was filled with question marks.
Bro, that's no joking matter for a monster like Shenhua to 'lend a helping hand'! You'll probably break my arm! He recalled the past.
Lin Yu helped to promote the Bloody Battle Song on the Shenhua application store; Lin Zhou allowed them to use Shenhua View for free; Lin Chang publicized Tomorrow is Beautiful...
His thoughts turned to the future...
If you three responsible for cell phone, real estate, and entertainment were to join forces and Lin Wan's career were to soar; then wouldn't Boss Pei's money loss-making machinery die on the spot?
Pei Qian rejected on the spot. "No need!"
Lin Chang nodded. "Yes, that's what I told the Old Master!"
Pei Qian responded, "Huh?
Lin Chang said with the expression 'I know Boss Pei best': "I told old Master that Boss Pei built everything from scratch and is talented beyond doubt. You had always rejected such help. Moreover, Boss Pei's every decision had gone through careful thought and had certain odds to win. We will just be adding to your trouble if we were to chip in."
Pei Qian nodded very happily. "That's right!"
Lin Chang, you do know me indeed! What you said is really what I want to hear!
You might have some problems understanding strategies, but everyone can still be good friends as long as you don't do anything out of the ordinary!
Pei Qian gave it some thought and asked again, "Then, Boss Lin, did Old Master hint when does he want Lin Wan back?"
Lin Chang considered for a while. "If I were to guess from Old Master's attitude... Lin Wan can go back when she can handle things by herself."
"I think she is able to handle things by herself now!" Pei Qian quickly said.
Lin Chang shook her head. "The Old Master doesn't think so. Boss Pei, Tengda is still considered small to Old Master. The sales volume and profits of Otto cell phones cannot even compare to an ordinary private-labeled cell phone from Shenhua. It is still very far away from being able to handle things by herself in the eyes of the Old Master.
"I think Ah Wan has to be one of the top people in the area she is in before she can obtain recognition by the Old Master..."
Pei Qian's expression darkened.
One of the top? For a cell phone to become 'one of the top people', that company would at least need to be worth billions of yuan, right?
Are you joking with me?
"What about other areas? For example, being one of the best in the world in the game industry. Would that count?" Pei Qian thought out loud.
"I guess so. Old Master does not have any biases against the game industry. However, a game like Bloody Battle Song will definitely not work. It has to be influential other than being profitable," Lin Chang replied.
Pei Qian nodded, with some understanding in his heart. It would be done if he were to arrange for Lin Wan to be in charge of the domestic server for IOI!
The goal was still the same: to 'get Lin Wan to go back and inherit the Lin family business'. Previously, it was to try to make the projects fail. Now, it was to make the project successful.
Of course, the success was in line with Boss Pei's goal. Success did not mean earning a lot of money, but it could be to make things popular!
Pei Qian was just worrying about who he should put in charge of for the IOI domestic server, which was a sure win.
He was certain now. He would put Lin Wan and Shang Yang Games in charge!
He could at least kill three birds with one stone if he were to do that.First, Shang Yang Games needed to avoid making good standalone games. They had already proven their ability with Be Quiet.
Then, the IOI domestic server would probably become a huge success no matter what. Since it was unavoidable, then he would throw Lin Wan into it so that Old Master Lin could quickly get her back to inherit their own business.
Finally, if IOI domestic servers were to succeed, it could defeat GOG—the big problem in his heart. Tengda Games and Shang Yang Games would go head-on with each other even though they were sibling companies. Little brother hit the elder brother hard. That fight would be very amusing indeed.
Pei Qian nodded. "Alright, I'll try to make it so that Old Master Lin will get her back in half a year!"
Boss Pei really had no confidence in making sure a project would definitely fail. However, to make a project succeed, especially a reliable project like IOI... Boss Pei did have some confidence.
Lin Chang viewed Boss Pei with suspicion, especially since his expression changed so swiftly. "Eh... Boss Pei, you seem to have planned in advance.
"So... you were indeed just bluffing me when you told me that you wanted to make Ah Wan fail, right?
"Could you have guessed that the Old Master would change his mind if Ah Wan were to show her competence?" Pei Qian, "...Boss Lin, you'll lose my friendship one day if you were to continue making wild guesses like this."
Chapter 473 'Bow Down To Reality' Game: Struggle
April 4th, Monday...
Pei Qian adjusted his targets at work for the next two days when he woke up.
First, he would make arrangements for the profitable Tengda Games and Shang Yang Games gaming departments!
Shang Yang Games would be pushing for the IOI domestic server with all their might.
Pei Qian would also find something for Tengda Games to work on. Otherwise, IOI might really not be able to beat GOG if Hu Xianbin continuously updated GOG, created new heroes, and increased their publicity efforts.
GOG had been working well on the domestic server after all. IOI had to think of a way to snatch all the players from GOG.
As to what kind of jobs should he give to Hu Xianbin...
Pei Qian decided to learn from his experiences to create a standalone game that no one would like!
The success of Tomorrow is Beautiful was a very hard hit on Pei Qian. It made him doubt life. Why wasn't the audience angry even though he seemed to think that it would infuriate them? It wasn't even reasonable!
Pei Qian came to a comprehension after deep thoughts.
It was his way of expression! If the audience were to put themselves in the shoes of the protagonist of Tomorrow is Beautiful, they would definitely feel sad and frustrated that they would rather die.
However, this was a movie.
Zhu Xiaoce used a special method to enable the audiences to maintain God's view. None of them could feel the way the protagonists felt. That led them to be unable to read more into it and be more empathetic.
Therefore, the meaning changed immediately.
That was the greatest failure of Tomorrow is Beautiful to Pei Qian. There was just a thin line between making huge losses and making huge profits.
Therefore, Pei Qian concluded that giving poison to the audience itself was not a wrong view. Otherwise, no one would say 'bow down to reality'. He had to be tactical about how he fed the poison.
He had to make the feeling very strong! As long as he could bring everyone into the tragic character, then it would definitely bring about his desired effect.
Pei Qian felt that he had found the crux of the problem why Tomorrow is Beautiful was profitable. He just needed to test his theory out.
However, how should he test it out...?
The Fei Huang Workspace was taken out by Pei Qian. Moreover, he would not want to touch movies again in the short term. Once bitten, twice shy. In comparison, games were a form of art to bring into! Some suffering in the movies would not arouse too much resentment. However, it would be different if the protagonist were to be bullied as the player.
Of course, some people might say that Repent and be Saved had not aroused the resentment of players but made the players very happy instead.
That was a complete misunderstanding.
Repent and be Saved was a game of suffering, but what players liked was not the feeling of suffering but the feeling of becoming stronger after suffering. In the end, it was the sense of accomplishment to overcome difficulties.
In other words, such players were not extreme masochists. On the contrary, they were extremely sadistic.
Almost all the games in the world had to give players enough positive feedback to have fun.
Pei Qian had already decided that this game would not give any players positive feedback. He would just pass on completely negative energy!
Wasn't this 'bowing down to reality'?
He had to make an extremely realistic game this time and definitely make it so that he had no friends!
This time, Boss Pei decided to do it personally or to write the story outline of the game himself to prevent Hu Xianbin from misinterpreting his intentions. He had to give the players a clear understanding!
Of course, Pei Qian also knew that it did not necessarily mean that this game would be able to make a loss. The failure of Game Designer was a very deep lesson to him. Pei Qian also thought that the narrative of Game Designer was abusive to the players, but the players were not angry at all. It became a huge plus.
Things spiraled out of control after Teacher Qiao over-interpreted it.
Pei Qian had thought of a countermeasure for these. He would never repeat these mistakes again, let alone fall twice into the same puddle!
In short, Pei Qian learned the experience and lessons of Tomorrow is Beautiful and Game Designer. He had to pin it all on this one!
In the guest room of the gaming department...
Hu Xianbin was obviously nervous. Pei Qian called Hu Xianbin to the guest room individually to tell him about the concept of this new game. Pei Qian did not call for the other more senior staff like Li Yada and Bao
Xu.
That was because these people had participated in the development of Game Designer and had a deep level of understanding of its success. Pei Qian was afraid that their participation would cause this new project to go wrong. Pei Qian, therefore, decided to isolate these senior staff.
He would get these seniors who had participated in the development of the Game Designer to maintain the GOG casually. He would then bring the new group of employees like Hu Xianbin who had no experience in standalone game development to be in charge of the new game. To ensure that the project could reach the level he expected, Pei Qian would explain everything to Hu Xianbin clearly this time to prevent him from using his imagination.
Pei Qian took a few sips of tea and started to talk about his idea.
"The name of this game is called 'Struggle'. It will be an interactive game with realistic themes. All characters have to be made in high-definition motion capture, and the quality of the drawing should be in line with SA masterpieces.
"Of course, due to the short process of the game, it probably would not cost a lot, perhaps... prepare 40 million yuan first. I'll add more if it isn't enough.
"Temporarily set the development period to be five months. Let's try to get it going on 1st September."
Hu Xianbin was at a loss.
What was that? Interactive movie game with a realism theme? What kind of godly combination was this?
The so-called interactive movie game could be regarded as an adventure game with exquisite graphics. Players would be able to choose different routes and play different endings after the story began. They only needed to make decisions among a few options without actually needing to operate anything.
Some interactive movie games used game graphics while others used real scenery and actors for the shot. They were all costly.
However, Boss Pei's request for all characters to be in high-definition motion capture and in line with 3A masterpieces... might cost more than the real set and actor shooting.
Forty million yuan was enough to make a movie...
Hu Xianbin felt huge pressure while being in a daze.
Why did it sound unreliable?!
Hu Xianbin would have thought that someone had passed the wrong information if he did not hear Boss Pei speak himself.
Pei Qian continued. "The name 'Struggle' is to allow players to re-experience their struggles in reality. The game will be sold in two different parts. 'Rich' and 'Poor' versions. They will be sold separately.
" 'Struggle' Rich version is to be sold to the poor. Its original price would be at 29 yuan and 19 yuan after discount; 'Struggle' Poor version would be sold to the rich with its original price at 99 yuan and the discounted price at 79 yuan.
"The player will enjoy the discount if they buy only one version. However, they would have to pay the full price, a total of 128 yuan if they were to buy both versions." Hu Xianbin blinked. "Erm... is there any deep meaning to this?"
Pei Qian nodded. "Of course. The poor have no money but want to experience the life of the rich. Therefore, the price is lower. The rich have money but want to experience the life of the poor so the price has to be higher. There is no second chance in life so it will cost more to experience it all."
Hu Xianbin was silent and said with emotion, "Even Boss Pei's pricing can be so philosophical..."
Pei Qian continued. "No matter whether it was the rich or poor version, they would be divided into several stages. They would grow up from infancy and go to school before entering society, from work life to live, from entertainment to rest. We have to show as many aspects of the life of the poor and rich through as many scenes as possible.
"In the rich version, the player plays the role of a rich man. He would have no worries from childhood. Everything would be smooth sailing for him. He could easily achieve success in all aspects of life, career, and relationships.
"However, he would die in the hands of a homeless man.
"In the poor version, a player would play as a poor man, having inadequate amounts of food and clothing. His path would be filled with thorns and have no way of making it even after he grew up. He could only continue his cycle of poverty."
Hu Xianbin was stunned. "And then?"
Pei Qian: "And then? Nothing else. That is the entire content of the game."
Hu Xianbin was even more confused now. "Shouldn't there be many endings for an interactive movie game?"
Pei Qian shook his head. "No, this game would only have two endings no matter the combination and permutation of options you choose. The rich would be killed by a homeless man, and the poor continue to get poorer."
I will never make the same mistake of having many endings like the instance with Game Designer again! Pei Qian thought to himself. Hu Xianbin was shocked. "What would the players play for if everything was doomed from the start?"
"The process will be different. There will be a different branch every time the player chooses a different route, but all the branches will return to the same ending," Pei Qian explained. "The difference in the branches would not be reflected in the ending. "We must fill in as many details for all aspects of life under the big framework of this game.
"For example, the poor can only attend ordinary schools with low quality of education while the rich attend expensive aristocratic schools. When seeking for jobs, the poor would often run into walls with interviews while the rich work directly for their fathers.
"The girlfriend who had been with the poor for many years would break up with him because they couldn't afford to buy a house while the rich brought different girls home from nightclubs every day. "When they get married, the poor will only be able to buy a small second-hand house with the help of the whole family while the rich would have mansions prepared. They need to do nothing but watch their estate grow more than the poor can ever earn with their hard work...
"Do you understand?"
Hu Xianbin's lips twitched. "I... understand all too well."
"Oh, right, the backdrop should be in Europe. Find some foreigners for motion capture and dubbing," Pei Qian added.
"Boss Pei, does this game have... any profound meaning?" Hu Xianbin asked.
Pei Qian laughed. "You don't need to know; just do what you are tasked with well enough.
"I'll come up with the framework of the story; you and the production team will be responsible for improving the plot. Show me the plot when you are done to make sure that there is no deviation from my thoughts.
i me
"Alright, you can go prepare now.
"You can work on art resources first. You roughly know what kinds of roles there would be with a little imagination anyway. People like parents, teachers, classmates, bosses, etc."
Pei Qian turned to leave after a few simple sentences.
He left Hu Xianbin pulling his hair out, thinking hard.
Teacher, that question was really out of the syllabus! I really cannot understand!
Pei Qian was also fully prepared to lose all his hard-earned money this time. The pricing was meaningfulThe poor version could also be called the ultimate suffering version. One could suffer all the sins one had suffered in reality and be the ultimate masochist.
The rich version could also be called the gold-foil-wrapped version. Everything was smooth sailing at first, which would make the player feel good. However, they would die in the hands of a poor person.
Pei Qian specially set it at a low price of 19 yuan, taking into account that the rich version was wrapped in gold foil, which would only reveal itself at the end. Yet, the poor one was a full ride of masochism so he set it at a high price of 79 yuan.
To prevent players from generating some inexplicable interpretations by playing the two versions together, Pei Qian deliberately increased the price of buying the two versions together.
If the players really wanted to buy, the best choice would be to buy the 19-yuan rich version. It would not cost much, and the risk of Pei Qian making money was very low.
The contents were more excessive. In addition to the masochism throughout the entire process, the key was that both endings were terrible. The players would not be able to change these two endings no matter how hard the player tried in the game!
Who would play such a game? It was absolutely impossible!
Pei Qian really steeled his heart to 'bow down to reality' this time. He would do his best to make ducks and drakes of the 40 million yuan. Please do not let a single penny come back to him!
Chapter 474 Walking the Way of Teacher Qiao, Force Him to Have Nowhere to Go
April 6th, Wednesday...
Pei Qian was finally done with the general plot of 'Struggle' after two days of struggle. The plot of the game could be roughly divided into several major stages: birth, school, exams, work, love, marriage, home purchase, childbirth, and middle-age crisis. That was the overall process. The poor and the rich versions would have the same stages, but they experienced completely different things.
For example, the children of the rich would have a nanny to take care of them from birth to when they were schooling. When they grow up, they would play happily in the mansion. The toys they had would be very expensive. They would also hire very high-end tutors to get good preschool education.
Children from poor families would not have these facilities at all. They could only watch TV and picture books at home. After their parents go to work, they could only play alone.
The other major stages were the same. Anyway, one could roughly imagine the plot if one were to imagine it. Everything would go wrong for the poor while everything would be unimpeded for the rich.
Pei Qian also considered adding some quantifiable data to the game, to let players feel the gap between the two more clearly. For example, the players' current knowledge (professional knowledge, financial awareness, etc.), emotional intelligence (handling people, making friends, etc.), mental health, specific material wealth, etc....
These data would ostensibly affect the player's options. For example, wealth management consciousness of a rich person could speed up his accumulation of material wealth; emotional intelligence could give him more opportunities to make friends with nobles; and his mental health could make it easier for him to adjust his mood at work. There would be problems due to excessive pressure...
However, everything was just on the surface. In fact, they would only affect some trivial branches and would not affect the final outcome. The reason Pei Qian did this was very simple. If the gameplay could allow the player to visualize the final outcome, then how could he make the player feel disgusted?
If the poor could counterattack and the rich could avoid the fate of being killed, wouldn't it be a great ending?
They must not let that happen!
Moreover, the setting of 'you have a choice on the surface, but everything was predestined' was regarded as a failure in the game industry. Most games would be criticized for doing so.
The game would last until middle-age, which was around 50 years old. As the saying went, be established at 30, have clarity at 40, and know the bidding of the heavens at 50.
To Pei Qian, 50 was the best age to kill off a rich man player. Too early and there would not be enough content; too late and it would not make people feel disgusted.
Fifty-year-old wealthy people were in their prime with their careers taking off. They had already obtained a very good standard of living. Most of them would have good marriages and promising children. Death at this time should be the most unacceptable time for players. As for the poor... life is basically fixated by the age of 50. The resemblance to their parents had also emerged, and this cycle of poverty has begun to take shape. In short, it was the best age to end this game. Of course, in addition to these fixed life processes, some unexpected events would also be added during the game. For example: car accidents, sickness, school bullying, pitfalls when buying a house, natural disasters, etc.
These emergencies would also slightly change the flow of the game and, at the same time, clearly show the gap between the poor and the rich in their ability to resist risks when facing these emergencies.
Pei Qian did not intend to do any voice-over this time after learning from the mistakes in Game Designer. All the content in the game would not contain any emotions or color. All dialogues and behaviors would be as objective as possible so that it would never induce players to have reverse psychology. Other than that, to prevent people with 'ulterior motives' from forcibly deepening their thinking, Pei Qian set the rich and poor as the two individuals whose paths do not cross at all.
The homeless guy who would kill the rich man in the end would have no link to the poor.
This homeless man would not be the simple, kind-hearted poor man that most people imagined. He had good hands and feet, but he was idle and lazy. He wanted to kill the rich because he was jealous. It was not because of some noble reasons that he resisted the oppression. The poor could reach the rich; for example, his boss would be completely unrelated to the protagonist in the rich version. They never had any idea of resisting. He did not want to generate any misunderstanding such as 'the rich oppress the poor'. In addition to this, there was another important question: how to prevent the pesky Teacher Qiao from over-interpreting this game? Pei Qian had been thinking very hard about this point, and he finally had an answer.
Force him to his grave with an official response!
Who would listen to you if I were to explain it from the start? How could you backstab me if no one listened to you?
Pei Qian could roughly guess the angles that Teacher Qiao could interpret from. It was nothing more than the rich-poor gap, the Matthew effect. The distribution of social wealth was unreasonable and the classes solidified.
If his brain circuit was more peculiar, then it may be possible to analyze the poor's lack of financial awareness and short-sightedness, why the rich could not understand the vicious cycle of life after falling to the bottom...
In any case, the topic of the gap between the rich and poor was discussed all over the world. If one was divergent in one's thinking, one could talk about many topics.
Pei Qian decided to expose these problems as soon as the game was released.
He would walk Teacher Qiao's road so that Teacher Qiao had nowhere to go! Of course, Pei Qian was not so stupid as to stab himself in the back. He wanted to expose these problems officially, but he would definitely not do it in the same way as Teacher Qiao.
The key was how to say it with the same reasoning. Quoting classics, forcing value and depth would definitely appear to be particularly alluring and would be easy for them to resonate with him.
However, Pei Qian planned to use simple language and a straightforward way to point all these out. His goal would be to make it as boring as possible.
It could even induce players to have some wrong views in the game such as the producer holding a view that 'the caste system could never be crossed', 'fatalism', etc.
That reasoning was like telling a joke.
red
Teacher Qiao told jokes, danced, screamed, and shouted. First, he created suspense, making the audience burst with anticipation before giving the answers. The effects were excellent.
However, Pei Qian did not need to lay the groundwork at all. He would just throw out whatever it was. This way, the audience would know what this burden was. No matter how Teacher Qiao created an atmosphere or suspense, this burden would not be able to surprise!
Pei Qian felt that his actions were like announcing 'this person is the murderer' on the first page of a manga[1]. He would not allow Teacher Qiao's Products of the Gods to have any new take on it!
The more Pei Qian thought about it, the more he felt he was a genius satisfied with his own talents!
Pei Qian sent the plot summary to Hu Xianbin after everything was completed, for him to expand. At the same time, different characters in the games would need to use different motion capture actors. All of whom must be foreigners so they had to be done in advance.
Pei Qian could not be bothered with these as he left them to Hu Xianbin. Anyway, things would be better if they went wrong.
It would be alright too if they did it well. As long as they firmly grasp the game plot and don't run off the track!
April 7th, Thursday...
Pei Qian came to the office on time after eating lunch. He had already sent Hu Xianbin the plot summary of 'Struggle' yesterday afternoon. He also sent a message to Lin Wan about IOI's domestic server and asked her to connect with He Desheng. He still had no idea on how to best handle the IOI domestic server. The possibility of making changes to the game was almost non-existent. It was difficult to push the price of the heroes and skins down. Dream Realization Ventures did not have a loud voice in the company since it only held 20% of Finger Games after all.
IOI and GOG were not on friendly terms if one were to look purely from the eyes of the game's charging model. GOG heroes were all free, and the price of their skin was several times lower than that of IOI.
However, Pei Qian felt that this was not important. Some people were playing IOI locally; they had a good player base. To them, the biggest problem was not the price but the internet.
The game was too laggy after using an accelerator to connect to its international server. It was impossible to communicate with foreign teammates in the game as well.
These people would definitely switch to the domestic server once it was out, so there was no need to worry about the start of the IOI domestic server. It would be able to take off without much maneuver with the ability of Shang Yang Games.
Pei Qian felt that the burden lifted from his body after temporarily settling two gaming departments. Nonetheless, he should not let his guard down. There were still many things waiting for him to settle. Knock, knock! A knock came from outside the office. It was Assistant Xin. "Boss Pei, this is the survey report on the fitness industry in Jingzhou City that you wanted. If you don't want to see the data, you can just turn to the last page and look at the conclusion."
Pei Qian nodded and took the investigation report from Assistant Xin.
He flipped it casually. As expected, everything in front was big data and technical terms. He did not understand them. Pei Qian turned to the last page very calmly and asked while reading the survey conclusions: "So, are gyms in Jingzhou making money or not?" Assistant Xin considered for a moment. "The key is how you operate it."
Pei Qian, "Hm? Tell me in detail."
Assistant Xin apparently had an understanding of the status of the fitness industry. She had conducted an in-depth investigation of the fitness industry in Jingzhou after receiving the mission from Boss Pei. She was extremely familiar with the contents.
"Simply put, it is limited by the current level of economic development in our country. Most people do not have the habit of going to the gym regularly. Even those with fitness habits often cannot afford the expenses of those high-end gyms.
"It is better in first-tier cities with more white-collar workers. This problem is especially obvious in a second-tier city like Jingzhou.
"The low-cost membership strategy adopted by many gyms to attract customers is difficult to support daily operations like rent, equipment, labor, water, electricity, cooling and heating, fire protection, and other aspects of opening a gym; let alone create enough
profit.
"From this point of view, gyms are not profitable. Many closed gyms have closed down because they cannot make ends meet. The greater the investment, the greater the marketing pressure. "However, there were also gyms that really make a lot of money. The main way is to find high-net-worth clients to sell private training sessions. The more you sell, the more you earn.
"The primary task of personal training in most gyms is not to teach students well, but to sell more classes. The internal group of personal training is similar to the marketing group. Whoever sells more classes will be sought after.
"In short, the current model of making money in the gym is through membership cards, especially for newcomers applying for annual cards. Newcomers have no fitness habit at all, and it is difficult to stick to it. The gym will only make money if they join the membership without attending the gym.
"At the same time, low-cost fitness cards attract as many customers as possible. Then, the personal trainers start to show their magic, find the high-net-worth customers to fool them into taking private lessons, and make most of the profits from here.
"There are also some other tricks. For example, go for a free test. Modern people usually have some health problems, and these private trainers would deliberately exaggerate these health problems and take the opportunity to sell classes.
"In short, I don't deny that there are more conscientious gyms in this industry, but generally, they are chaotic and not very standardized.
"Many consumers who go to the gym are also extremely disgusted with this chaos, but the reasons for this situation are more complicated and cannot be changed in a short time.
"Boss Pei, it is a good thing for the industry itself if you want to enter it. However, these objective problems must definitely be considered. It will not be so easy to create a high-end and conscientious gym brand from scratch even for you..."
[1] This refers to comics drawn in the Japanese style.